cute or creepy?

Oct 29, 2007

Forget ghouls, goblins, or ghosts—I think that the scariest costumes for Halloween are the sexy ones targeted towards young girls. Dressing up as a normal princess or pumpkin has become passé, and has been replaced by barely-there Bratz doll costumes or firefighters that wear fishnet stockings.

This recent phenomenon has exploded in popularity and it's hard to walk into a store and find a Halloween costume that is cute and doesn't include a ridiculously short miniskirt or belly-baring top. I have no problem with the idea of escape and dressing in a certain way to feel sexy. However, I do have issues with the fact that 6- and 7-year-old models are featured in catalogs wearing child-sized versions of skimpy adult costumes.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

A recent article in Newsweek points out that the explosion in sexy costumes for children and women signifies deeper issues in our culture and reinforces stereotypes about what it means to be a girl.

During this time of the year, I can't help but think about the infamous Mean Girls quote that says, "Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it."

CosmoGIRL!s, are you wearing a sexy costume for Halloween? Are they just cute or do they point to problems in our culture?